In the latest stage of his flight-free trip around the world, Ed Gillespie finds a lovers' lake in Vietnam more suited to mud-wrestling and visits a rice wine distillery ... perfect if you're having dog for dinner.

Ed Gillespie will spend the next year travelling the world by land and sea. In the first of a series of fortnightly dispatches, Ed and girlfriend Fi board the ferry from Portsmouth for a bumpy start to their adventure ...

When Ed Gillespie sets off on his round-the-world trip in March, he will do things differently from most travellers, starting with not rushing to the airport. In fact, he is determined not to rush anywhere at all. Like a small but growing group of people, he plans to circumnavigate the globe as a 'slow traveller'.